


Do You Believe?

by mystic_believexx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, And doing borderline insane things, And snow, First Kiss, Happy ending as always, Liam is even more protective than Zayn, Louis loves lollipops, Louis' a hyperactive man-child, M/M, Niall is oblivious and perfect, Oneshot, Slight mention of abuse and violence, Strong language at times, Zayn is the protective bodyguard, harry loves Louis, harry works in a bakery, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3571511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystic_believexx/pseuds/mystic_believexx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Just for future reference, lads- using blocks of butter as roller skates is a bad idea", the blue-eyed creature said and Harry's mouth fell open. Because what!?</p><p>Harry's ordinary day, working at his local bakery, is turned upside down when Louis Tomlinson decides to crash into him. Literally.<br/>Louis, with his hyperactive energy, love for lollipops and bizarre games, creeps into Harry's life and his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Believe?

**Author's Note:**

> This idea got stuck in my head so I decided to write it into a fic for you guys! A bit crazy but hope you like it! xx
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** This work is entirely fictional. The plot and characters are created by me and are in no way a representation of any real life individuals. No offence is intended.

Harry had been working at this bakery since he was sixteen. Three years on, not much had changed in the store. 

It was still filled with the constant, warm smell of freshly baked bread that clung to Harry even after he left work. The old cash register that he had been trying to convince Bertha to get rid of since the day he started (he had taken to keeping a hammer under the counter to use on the buttons that were stuck!) was still in its usual place and the carefully decorated displays of iced buns and other pastries were still as magical to Harry today as they had been when he first saw them and decided working at the bakery was his dream job.

The only true difference in the bakery was in Harry himself. Not in his character for he was still easily excitable and utterly immature, having the same sense of humour as a five year old…except people actually laughed at five year olds jokes. But that never phased Harry. As Bertha often said, he was a child stuck in an adult's body.

It was this body that had changed over the years, reminding people that Harry wasn't the sixteen year old boy he had once been. His short, bouncy curls had grown longer and slightly more controllable, his cherubic face had thinned out slightly to reveal a strong jaw and handsome features, his limbs had grown longer and wider, muscle filling out his body and he had quite the collection of tattoos decorating his skin, which had been pale and unmarked at the age of sixteen.  
But, as Bertha often said, despite all these changes, Harry was still Harry. All one had to do was take one look at his wide, jade green eyes to see the same sparkle of delight he had worn in his younger years, untainted by age and experience. It was a fact he was quite proud of. Being nineteen hadn't changed him.

Yes, his high school days were behind him and he had just started university. Yes, he had gone from spending his pocket money on sweets and junk food to saving it up for books and rent. So yes- a lot had changed in three short years but Harry was still Harry.

And what Harry liked best of all, was working at the bakery.

That day was just an ordinary work day, with Harry decorating the buns in the back room as his best friend, Niall, kept him company (and occasionally snuck a bun or two into his mouth. "What Bertha doesn't know won't hurt her!" Niall reasoned when Harry tried to stop him), regaling him with tales of his Irish family.

Tales Harry had heard time and time again but still found hilarious!

"Done!" Harry grinned down at the tray of iced buns he had finished, all decorated in Christmas colours to honour the season. It was only October but if people could shop for Christmas presents this early, Harry could draw snowmen and raindeer with icing!

"Want me to take 'em to the front?" Niall asked, still sitting on the work bench, munching on a bun.

"I actually want them to sell this time, Niall. You eating them before they go on display doesn't help with that", Harry answered, pointedly reminding Niall of the last time he had offered to help, when the tray of pastries had magically vanished somewhere between the back room and the display case.

"You can't prove a thing", Niall answered, smugly and Harry couldn't fight the grin. Niall had always been an amazing friend and his only weakness in all the years Harry had known him, seemed to be food. 

Harry grabbed the tray with both hands and turned around, preparing to walk through the door. He hummed to himself, happy in the knowledge that it was just an ordinary day at work…until a screaming figure hurtled into him, knocking the tray from his hands.

Harry stumbled back with a cry, knocking into a jar of what appeared to be jam and, promptly, setting off a cascade effect. The jar toppled to the ground, bringing with it, a sack of flour.  
"Shit!", Harry ran forward, hands held out in a futile attempt to catch it. The bag of flour mocked him, falling onto his head before plopping to the floor where it spilled over, leaving Harry with nothing but powder-covered hair for his trouble!

He shook as much of it out as he could before turning to glare at the figure who was slouched on the ground, iced buns scattered all around him. The brown-haired boy looked up, his blue eyes anything but repentant.

"Butter's more slippery than I thought. Guess Zayn won that round then", he muttered, his voice echoing loudly in the small space.

Harry blinked at him, utterly confused. The confusion only grew when he saw a pool of what looked like melted butter around the boy's shoes.

"Just for future reference, lads- using blocks of butter as roller skates is a bad idea", the blue-eyed creature said and Harry's mouth fell open. Because what!?

"Don't worry", the boy quickly stated, seeing Harry's look and mistaking it for curiosity, "I had a good reason for it. See, I was playing a game with my friend- it's called 'Do You Believe'- where the first person says do you believe something crazy and if you agree with the crazy thing, they get the point but if you say no, they have to prove it to you or else you'll get the point".

Harry blinked at him again, slowly. He didn't want an explanation for the insanity that had just taken place. He wanted this kid out of here so he could clean up before Bertha skinned him alive. 

But now that the boy had started talking, he didn't seem to want to stop.

"I told Zayn that butter wasn't slippery. He disagreed so I had no choice but to strap two blocks of butter to my feet and try using them as skates. Turns out, I was wrong. It's really hard to control your sense of direction when skating on butter. Who'd have thought, huh?".

There was a beat of silence as the boy looked between Harry and Niall. Then Niall said, "Wicked!" as if strapping blocks of butter to one's feet was a perfectly normal thing to do. 

"I'm Louis", the boy on the ground grinned up at the blonde.  
"Niall", he introduced himself before pointing at Harry. "This is Harry".

And no. Harry did not want to make friends with the guy who had knocked over his entire morning's work _and_ messed up his hair! Even if Louis was an incredibly attractive man...

"Why are you covered in flour?" Louis asked suddenly, looking up at Harry with a frown. "Were you having a bath in it?"

 _Was he serious???_

Niall cracked up laughing while Harry, silently fuming, glared at the stranger.  
"No", he said, annoyed in a way he seldom was, "I was actually having a perfectly lovely day before a bag of flour decided to get into a fist fight with me".

"Oh", Louis nodded seriously and Harry was left to wonder if the guy was being smart on purpose to wind him up or if he really didn't understand the concept of sarcasm. "Looks like you lost".

And was that a _smirk_ on his face? He'd knocked Harry over and now had the audacity to laugh at him?  
Harry was seething! 

He opened his mouth, about to tell the blue-eyed bundle of evil to get lost when another voice called out, "Lou? You in there?"

"Zayn!" Louis shouted, his smile growing even wider and Harry barely had time to blink before a leather-jacket clad stranger walked in, pushing past him to get to Louis.

"Liam will kill me", the man called Zayn muttered under his breath as he pulled Louis up by the hand, checking him over for any bruises.

"I'm fine, Z", Louis pushed the man away and diverted Zayn's worried gaze by pointing at Niall. "Meet my new friends!" 

"Hi!" Niall chirped from his seat on the work bench, "I'm Niall. This is Harry".  
"Hey", Zayn nodded towards him and Harry couldn't stop himself from muttering, "Great! Let's just have a party in here!"

"I love parties!" Louis immediately said, his eyes sparkling and damn! He looked freaking adorable! Life wasn't fair, Harry thought.

"No, Louis", Zayn said, tiredly, grabbing his arm before he wandered off again. Then he turned to Harry, eyes apologetic.

"I'm so sorry about this", Zayn gestured towards the floor. "I'll pay for any damage he's caused".

"I didn't do any damage!" Louis exclaimed, turning to frown at Zayn.

"Except ruin my entire batch of iced buns", Harry couldn't help but add and Zayn winced.

"So sorry! How much are they? I'll see that you're reimbursed for it!"

"Drama queen", Louis muttered, looking at Harry with a pout. "They're not ruined! See?"

He picked one up off the floor and before Harry, Niall or Zayn could stop him or (in Harry's case at least) do anything more than gape at him in astonishment, he took a large bite. "  
"Still tastes great!" he added around a mouthful.

Zayn rubbed a hand over his temples, as if trying to hold off an impending headache and Harry felt sorry for him. This boy, _Louis_ , seemed to be quite the handful.

"We better go", Zayn said, grabbing his excitable companion's arm before he wandered any closer to the oven (the oven that had a red danger sign and the words 'DO NOT TOUCH' on it), "I'll have all the damage put on my tab. Once again, I'm extremely sorry for Louis' behaviour".

Louis rolled his eyes at Harry but when Zayn tried to pull him along, he pouted and stomped his feet, reminding Harry of a toddler at the supermarket who wasn't getting their way.

"No! I wanna stay here!" he stated.  
"Why would you want to do that?" Zayn asked and his tone told Harry this was something he often dealt with.

"I just do!"  
"That's not a reason, Lou", Zayn said, with the patience of a saint, in Harry's opinion. 

"Because it smells nice", Louis stated, turning his blue eyes to Harry before bounding over to him and grabbing his arm. He rested his head on Harry's shoulder as if they had known each other their whole lives and Harry could only watch, his heart thumping in his chest as Louis added, "You smell nice. Can I stay and watch you work?"

And damn the man for having such an adorable puppy dog face! Harry felt something unfamiliar twist inside him.

"Uh…" Harry knew he would cave, as did Louis if his wide grin was anything to judge by (and were those blue eyes more beautiful up close or was Harry going a bit delirious?), but Zayn made the decision for them.

"No, Louis. You can't stay here", he said and carried on before Louis could open his mouth to protest, "If you come with me, I'll get you a lollipop".

Louis paused at that, snuggling closer to Harry, then narrowed his eyes.  
"A whole bag of lollipops", he negotiated and Zayn rolled his eyes, fondly. 

"Fine. A whole bag. But only if you race me to the candy store!"

And that was all it took for Louis to grin and run out, abandoning Harry. Zayn called out a hurried goodbye to them as he followed the hyped up man.

They could hear Louis chanting, "Lollipop, lollipop, Oh lolly, lolly, lolly…" as he skipped out the door.

Harry was dumbfounded. Did people like Louis really exist? Apparently so.

"He's a crazy bugger", Niall commented lightly and Harry was just about to wholeheartedly agree when the Irish lad added, "I like him! Reminds me of my Uncle Pete but, you know, better!"  
And, in that moment, Harry decided that Niall was just as crazy as the boy named Louis!

 

_____________________________

 

Harry had certainly never expected to see Louis again, although Bertha had told him a lovely, dark-haired man had come in and insisted on paying her a fortune for some kind of 'damage' caused. Harry almost asked if a brown-haired boy was with him…almost. But then he bit his tongue and decided it would sound odd.

Not that it mattered. It wasn't like Harry would ever see him again. Except, just a couple of weeks later, he did.

Harry was walking home that evening after his shift at the bakery when he saw him. He knew it was Louis because who else would be sitting on a cold park bench in the middle of winter wearing a neon green jacket and bright yellow gloves while sucking on a lollipop?

As Harry got closer, he saw that Louis' hair was wet and not just from the snowflakes. It was practically soaking, as if he had dumped a bucket of water on it. He briefly wondered if Zayn had finally lost patience with him and done just that. He wouldn't have blamed the guy.

Harry hadn't meant to walk up to him. He hadn't planned on standing there, staring like an idiot until Louis looked up at him, smiling around his orange lollipop. But he had done it all the same.

"Hello", Louis said and his blue eyes sparkled as if he were genuinely happy to see Harry.

"Uh, hi", Harry replied and he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. "Why is your hair wet?"

Louis didn't answer for a minute as he finished off his lollipop and gave Harry the stick, asking him if he could throw it in the bin for him. The bin that was five metres away from where he was sitting.

And, like a trained puppy, Harry obeyed. He found it quite difficult to say 'no' to the man in the green jacket, though he wasn't planning on admitting that out loud!

"Well", Louis said as he returned after having fulfilled his duty, "I was playing 'Do You Believe' with Zayn and I said that I believed catching a cold if you go out with wet hair was just a myth. He disagreed so obviously, I had to get my hair wet and come sit out here".

"Obviously", Harry finally managed to say when he realised Louis was staring at him expectantly.

"Exactly!" Louis beamed as if Harry had given him the right answer and that smile made something inside Harry warm a bit. "I've been out here for 25 minutes. Five more and I'll win!"

"Is this…something you do a lot?" Harry asked because he was genuinely curious as to how someone would think sitting outside in the middle of winter with wet hair exposed to the cold, was a good idea.

Louis considered the question then shrugged.  
"Only if I'm playing the game. Otherwise, it'd just be ridiculous, wouldn't it?"

And Harry nodded mutely. Because when it was part of the game, there wasn't _anything_ even remotely ridiculous about it! He honestly wanted to crawl into Louis' head and figure out how it worked because it made absolutely zero sense to him. But then he realised how creepy that sounded and pushed the thought to the back of his mind, settling for the much more normal question of, "So, where's Zayn?"

Louis looked up at him and he looked like he was pouting.

"He's gone to get a coffee. Not manly enough to enjoy the snow without a hot beverage", he huffed.  
Harry had only been standing here for a couple of minutes but a hot beverage sounded quite appetising to him at the moment.

"And you don't want a hot beverage?" Harry asked, honestly trying his hardest to understand this man.

Louis looked at him as if he were stupid.  
"I'm sitting outside while it's snowing around me. Of course I don't want a hot beverage! Hotness has no place in winter!" 

Looking at Louis, with his pink-tinged cheeks and sparkling eyes, Harry had to disagree but he stopped that thought before it got too far. 

 

"You're crazy", he said instead.  
Louis seemed unfazed. "You're boring", he answered back.

"Am not!" Harry huffed, digging his gloved hands into the pocket of his winter jacket. 

Louis shook his head slowly.  
"I hate to break this to you, Curly but you are. Boring that is. Extremely boring. I might just fall asleep talking to you".

Harry gritted his teeth as he answered.

"At least I'm not insane!"

They glared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to look away until Louis let out a loud sneeze.

"Damn it!" he muttered, pushing his wet locks back from his forehead. He looked up at Harry with narrowed eyes, as if daring him to laugh so, despite every part of him wanting to do exactly that, Harry managed to swallow it down.

Well…he might have let a small chuckle escape but who could blame him, really?

Apparently Louis could because a second later, he saw Louis' hand dart out and suddenly, Harry felt the cold air brushing against his ears, reddening them instantly.

"Wha…?" he questioned, only to see Louis had snagged his woollen beanie and was tugging it over his own hair.

"Hey! I was using that!" Harry protested.  
"Not anymore, you're not", Louis smirked and before Harry had entirely processed his own actions, his body lunged towards Louis. 

He grit his teeth as Louis, the smaller and faster of the two, deftly skipped out of the way, laughing. It was a pleasant sound but Harry had the more pressing matter of getting his hat back to notice it…okay, to notice it _much_ .  
He was only human!

Harry turned around and ran towards Louis but the boy just stepped to the side and stuck a foot out, easily tripping him into a face full of snow.

Harry felt the cold flakes seep into his hair, covering it in a layer of white.

"Why is it every time I see you, you have something white in your hair?" Louis asked from somewhere above him.

Harry growled and was about to get up when he felt the warm, firm weight of someone against his back. Louis, the prat, had fallen on top of him, keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Hi", Louis whispered against his ear and the breath was warm, causing Harry's skin to tingle. He suddenly realised he was quite content to just lie there, with Louis on top of him but then Harry realised this was a game and there was no way he was going to let Louis win it!

He manoeuvred them so Louis was suddenly on the ground, lying on his back and Harry was on top of him, looking down into those endless blue eyes. He could probably get lost in them if he let himself.

"We match!" Louis said with a breathtaking smile. Harry had no idea what he was talking about but he briefly considered nodding and smiling in agreement, just to keep that grin on the other boy's face.

"We match", Louis repeated, obviously realising Harry was lost. "See? My jacket's green and so are your eyes! Did you pick that eye colour just so we'd match?"

And what in actual fuck was happening?

"Um…I'm almost one hundred and ten percent sure it doesn't work like that", Harry muttered.

"Mm", Louis hummed and suddenly, Harry was pelted with a face full of snow that had him spluttering. Louis tried to roll them over but Harry was the stronger of the two.

"Why'd you do that?" he grumbled, holding Louis firmly by the wrists but his voice cracked slightly as he felt the reassuring warmth of Louis underneath him, wriggling. Damn the man!

Louis' eyes were incredibly bright, laughter etched into the creases of his face and now that Harry was close enough to study his features, he realised that Louis was older than him. At least by a couple of years. Not that anyone would guess from the way he acted!

"Wanna know why I did it?" Louis asked, a small smile on his lips.

And, like the gullible person he was, Harry nodded.

Louis motioned for him to bend down closer until Harry's ear was directly above his mouth.

"Because" Louis mock whispered now, as if it were some great secret. "You're boring!"

He shouted the last word, causing Harry to move back with a cry, his ear ringing. Louis chuckled.

Harry really just wanted to slap him, grab his beanie and stomp all the way home but before he could do any more than glare at the laughing man beneath him, a voice called out, "Do I win?"

Louis rolled his eyes and huffed, reaching up to squeeze Harry's arm until he got the message and rolled over. Louis got up from the ground and dusted himself off, looking over at Zayn.

"Let's call it a tie", Louis said and carried on before Zayn could protest, "If it had been summer, I mightn't have caught a cold. I blame the weather!"

Zayn smirked and shook his head, looking as if he were about to argue but then his eyes spotted Harry, who was still lying on the ground, probably looking like an idiot. He raised an enquiring eyebrow at him.

"You look familiar", he said but before Harry could answer, Louis' voice spoke up.

"It's Harry!" Louis grinned, poking Zayn in the arm. "Remember? From the bakery!"

"Oh! Right. Louis' still really sorry about what happened that day", Zayn said and beside him, Louis was bouncing on the heels of his feet, not looking sorry at all.

"It's not a problem", Harry murmured because what else could he say when Louis was giving him a disarming grin.

Zayn never asked why Harry was lying in the snow but then again, Harry supposed being friends with Louis (who seemed to do crazy things on a daily basis!) had probably changed Zayn's idea of normality.

"You want a sip?" Zayn asked Louis now, raising his steaming cup of coffee. Louis scrunched up his nose in disgust and put a hand in his coat pocket, pulling out a blue lollipop. Just how many of those did he keep in there?

"No thanks. I'm all set", he said before grabbing Zayn's hand and pulling him. "I wanna go home now".

Zayn shrugged and allowed himself to be led by the enthusiastic man. "'Kay. See you, Harry", he added to the boy in the snow.

Harry nodded but his eyes were on Louis as he pulled down the beanie- _Harry's_ beanie- over his head more firmly. As if sensing his gaze, he tossed a quick, "See you around, Curly!" over his shoulder and then, with one last flash of the smile that made Harry's heart flip, Louis was gone, Zayn in tow.

Harry lay there in the snow for a good while, until his body was too numb to feel the cold. Then, he slowly got up and whispered a reply to the long gone figure.

"Bye Louis". He wondered if he'd ever see him again. He kind of hoped he would. 

 

_____________________________

 

So it was that time again. The time when Harry Styles had to run around the library like a chicken with its head cut off because he had, once again, left his assignment until the last minute. 

Last minute as in, the bloody thing was due in two hours and Harry was barely halfway through the essay. 

"Three more references, Niall!" he shouted, thankful that the librarian had stepped out for a few minutes and wouldn't make him whisper. "Help me find three more books on this subject!"

He dropped yet another book on the table that he and Niall currently occupied. The blonde was anything but helpful, giving Harry a lazy grin.  
"You're doing just great on your own, Hazza", he smirked before leaning his head against the table and closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

Harry gave a growl of exasperation.  
"Don't fall asleep! Just watch this book, yeah? Took me forever to find it! I'm going to go look for three more".

Niall grunted which was the closest to an agreement Harry was going to get out of him so Harry ran off to yet another library shelf, pulling out titles and skimming through their index. Next time, he would get his work done earlier. Next time, he'd be more organised. Next time…oh, who was he kidding?  
Next time he'd be in the same position. Being a uni student sucked!  
He'd rather just work at the bakery all day.

 

Finally, after another ten minutes of perusal, Harry found three more books to use for his essay. Now he could finish that pain in the arse of a...

Harry gaped as he returned to their table to see Niall had fallen asleep and the book he was meant to be protecting with his life was gone!

If he hit Niall over the head with a heavy encyclopaedia…well, it was no more than he deserved!

"What the fuck, mate?" Niall shouted, rubbing the back of his head, gingerly.  
"Where's the book, Niall?"

"What book?"

" _The_ book!" Harry nearly screamed, "The one that took me half an hour to find!"

"Not sure", Niall shrugged as if Harry's life (or grade, at least!) was not hanging in the balance of locating this book! 

"What the fuck do you mean, not sure?"

Niall glowered at him. "I mean, I might have been able to help if you hadn't knocked out my brain cells with that ton of bricks! I'm not even sure I can recall my own name anymore"

Harry dropped the encyclopaedia onto the table and grabbed Niall by the arm, pulling him up.  
"You're not getting lunch until we find it!" he stated, ignoring Niall's groan, "A book can't just disappear!"

They looked everywhere. Under the table and chairs, on the bookshelf where he had originally got it from, the front desk of the library which was currently unoccupied by the librarian.

It was while Harry was digging through the 'returned books' trolley that he heard it. Niall had too, judging by the way he cocked his head to one side and gave Harry a quizzical look.

"Is that…?"  
Giggling? Yes. Yes it was. 

Harry walked towards the back of the library, where the photocopiers were located. The photocopiers and paper shredders, as he quickly found out.

Harry felt his throat go dry as he saw a familiar mop of brown hair. He may have croaked out a, "No!" when he saw the aforementioned brown haired lad holding his precious book over the paper shredder, where the pages were slowly being destroyed.

"What the hell?" Niall, who had come up behind the frozen Harry asked, snapping Harry out of his trance.

"Hi!" Louis grinned as he caught sight of them, his eyes sliding over Niall before moving to Harry. "Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Well we go here!" Harry snapped, watching as the machine known as the shredder crushed his last hopes of getting an 'A' on the assignment.

"Should've known", Louis muttered, "Boring Harry goes to boring uni". Then he giggled as if that were the funniest thing ever!

"It rhymed!" he explained to Niall who was grinning back.  
"No. It fucking did not rhyme!" Harry snarled, walking over and grabbing the half destroyed book from Louis' hand.

"Give it back!" Louis practically shrieked and swiped his hand for the book, somehow managing to get it.

"I need it!" Harry growled back, trying and failing to retrieve it from the older boy's grasp.

"You can't have it!" Louis' eyes were steely with determination. "Zayn said he doesn't believe an entire book can be shredded in one go. I have to prove him wrong or he wins this round too!"

"Use another fucking book!" Harry gritted out.

Louis looked shocked.  
"I can't do that!" he exclaimed, "I've already chosen this book. If I abandon it, I'd hurt its feelings!"

And, well. What was one to say to that?

"Lou!" Zayn's voice came from around the corner.

"Shhh!" Louis grabbed Harry's arm, "Don't tell him I'm here".  
Harry smirked at him and Louis narrowed his eyes as he realised just what Harry was about to do.

"Zaaayn! He's right over-OW!" Louis had stomped on Harry's foot but by the time Zayn reached them, Louis was wearing an angelic smile.

Zayn took one look at the half-shredded book in Louis' hand and sighed.

"Where's the librarian?" he asked, tiredly, "Let's see how much she's gonna charge me this time".

"You mean this has happened before?" Niall asked.  
Zayn pursed his lips as he tried to recollect. "No. I think he set a shelf on fire last time".

As Harry stood there, gaping, they heard voices coming towards them. Zayn groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Shit!" he muttered, "It's Liam. He's going to kill me when he sees what you've been up to".

Louis rolled his eyes.  
"It was all part of the game, Zayn", he said, as if that made it perfectly acceptable. And maybe, in Louis' world, it did.

"Try telling Liam that", Zayn began when they heard another voice, a deeper voice, enquire, "So how has this establishment been?"

A woman, answered, "It's been incredibly useful to the students, Mr. Tomlinson. You're donation is very much appreciated!"

 

"Shit!" Zayn said again, his face turning a few shades paler. He turned to Louis who was standing stock still, the grin on his face long gone.

"It's okay, Lou. We'll…uh…we can sneak out through the back before…"

But the voices were a lot closer now, obviously heading towards the back of the library and their corner. 

Louis seemed to realise this too for he moved towards Zayn, grabbing the collar of his shirt and hiding his face against his chest.

"Don't let him hurt me", he whimpered against the boy, whose arms came around Louis, holding him tightly. "I don't wanna get hurt".

"You won't", Zayn said, his stance protective but his voice shook a bit. He gave Harry and Niall a desperate look.

"I know I don't know either of you that well", he said in a rush, "But could you do us a favour? Please? Just go around the corner and tell Liam something about candy".

"Candy?" Harry asked, his voice coming out thick and unused.  
"Yeah", Zayn nodded, pulling Louis in closer as the boy whimpered. "Just say something about candy. Make sure you say that word and make sure he hears it before they get here. Please?"

Harry's eyes were on Louis, who was now shaking with…fear? What was he so afraid of?

"We've got it covered, mate", Niall said to Zayn before grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him along. 

 

As they rounded the corner, they could see the three people they had heard. One was a guy around their age with brown eyes and a rigid posture. He was walking to the left of the lady Harry recognised as the librarian. 

And there, on the right of her was a tall man with sharply-shaped features and an assessing look in his eyes who Harry pretty much hated on sight. He didn't know why. He just did.

They were walking towards them, only ten steps away from the corner. Harry had no idea what they were supposed to do but Niall seemed confident. 

"So, Harry", he said loudly, "I love candy! Like so so much! _Candy_ is great!"  
He emphasised the word and Harry saw the librarian turn to Mr. Tomlinson and give him an apologetic look.

"First years", she said with a grimace.  
But the brown-eyed boy's eyes had snapped up to them the moment he heard Niall say 'candy'.

Niall blinked back at him, subtly (and who knew Niall was capable of subtlety?) shifting his head towards the corner shelf.

The boy, who Harry assumed to be Liam, sucked in a deep breath. He turned on the spot, jumping in front of Mr. Tomlinson and the librarian.

"Liam?" the man asked, brows furrowing. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, I just remembered, Uncle!" he exclaimed, "The university board wanted to meet with you! The meeting's in twenty minutes".

Mr. Tomlinson's frown only got deeper.  
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he growled.

"It…uh…slipped my mind. My apologies", Liam bowed his head slightly. Mr. Tomlinson turned to the librarian, obviously annoyed.

"I'm afraid we'll have to cut this tour short", he said, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Liam who flinched. 

"Oh…but you haven't seen the new photocopiers we installed with your donation", the librarian said, keen to show off her niche in the school. 

"Another time", Liam quickly interjected before Mr. Tomlinson could even consider the offer. "You really should leave now, Uncle, if you want to be there on time. Mrs.Fray knows the way better than me. She could assist you".

The librarian's (her name was Mrs.Fray. Harry kind of felt bad he hadn't known that. Kind of) face brightened at the prospect of spending more time with Mr.Tomlinson who, despite everything, was quite a good looking man.

"Of course! I know the way", she almost simpered and Mr.Tomlinson gave her a cursory nod before turning and striding away, Mrs.Fray in tow.

Liam gave a barely perceptible sigh of relief before spinning around to face Niall and Harry.  
"Where is he?" he asked and Niall pointed, stepping aside to let him through.

Harry followed them and saw Louis was now sitting on the ground, cuddled in Zayn's arms. Zayn himself, looked distraught.

"Louis!" Liam kneeled down in front of them, and ran a hand through Louis' hair, sharing a look with Zayn that Harry couldn't quite decipher. "I had no idea you two would be in here. Why didn't you text me?" he demanded with a frown at Zayn who looked sheepish.

"Uh…Louis wanted to see if phones could float. He used mine".

"They can't", Louis muttered, sniffling. "Who would've thought, huh?"  
"Who indeed", Liam said but he reached over and hugged Louis. "It's alright, Lou. He's gone".

"He'll come back", Louis whimpered against Zayn's chest.  
"No, he won't", Liam said it with confidence. "He's only here for the day. Your mum told me he won't be staying the night. You won't have to see him".

"What if Mum lied?" Louis questioned and Liam glanced over at Zayn who had composed himself enough to say, "She never lies, Lou. Just like you".

Louis nodded then moved back, wiping his tear-filled eyes with the back of his hand as he gave a weak chuckle.

"Yeah. He's gone".

"Gone", Liam confirmed before spotting the book that was now on the floor next to Zayn. He got up and reached for it. Zayn avoided his gaze.

"What exactly happened here?" Liam questioned.

Zayn blushed. 

"You were meant to keep an eye on him!" Liam exclaimed as Louis got up from the floor and looked around, looking as if he were back to his old self.

"I was!" Zayn murmured, "But he kind of got away from me…again".

Louis' eyes had fallen on Harry again and he skipped up to him.  
"You wanna ask me something", he stated it as a fact and…yeah, okay. So maybe Harry had a bunch of questions but he couldn't ask any of them without appearing to be a nosy git!

"Um…just…uh…who was he?" Harry asked, referring to the man Louis had so obviously been scared of.

"That's my dad", Louis said with a grimace. "He hates me".  
Liam turned around at that, frowning but it was Zayn who answered, "He does not hate you, Louis. No one could hate you".

Louis grinned but he kept his eyes on Harry as he said, "Z always thinks the best of people but my dad does hate me. He's hated me since I was a kid. Probably why he left. It's okay though. I hate him too".

Harry may have stared at him a moment too long because Liam was now saying, "Sorry. Louis doesn't really…he's too honest. Doesn't have a filter".

"Was born without one!" Louis stated simply, "But Mum says that's makes me special. Don't ask me something if you don't want the honest answer. I never lie".

Harry just blinked at the boy known as Louis Tomlinson, who was hyperactive, loved lollipops and, apparently, had no filter. He had absolutely no idea what made him want to get to know Louis better. As well as Liam and Zayn knew him…maybe even better. 

"Do you think I'm weird?" Louis asked and Harry was startled out of his thoughts as he realised the question was directed at him.

"Of course you're not!" Zayn immediately said, stepping forward and glaring at Harry as if daring him to disagree. But Harry hadn't been planning on disagreeing.

"Yeah no. You're amazing", he breathed and he truly meant it. He couldn't help but admire how the boy had practically had a breakdown and then managed to pick himself up, his face clear of all traces of his earlier fear. Yes. Louis Tomlinson was indeed amazing. 

"Good", Louis grinned. "Because I quite like you. A lot".  
Harry wasn't the only one who sucked in a breath. He heard Niall, Zayn and Liam do the same thing, Zayn looking delighted and Liam looking concerned.

"Louis…" Liam began but now Louis had grabbed Harry's larger hand in his own small one, examining the tattoo on his wrist.

"If you're gonna get lyrics permanently added to your skin, you should probably make sure they're correct", he commented.  
And the tension dissipated just like that.  
Niall and Zayn burst out laughing, Liam cracked a smile and Harry's mouth fell open. 

"Uh…I…but…" he stammered like an idiot as Louis gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence that was only belayed by the smirk on his face. 

"But back to the topic at hand", Liam's voice was serious again and Louis rolled his eyes at Harry as Liam continued. "I cannot believe you destroyed a book that belonged to the library, Louis! I knew leaving you two alone was a bad idea! I should have…" 

While Zayn was looking guilty and remorseful over having failed in his duty, Louis simply grinned and bounded over to Liam, pulling him into a tight hug.

 

"Love you, LiLi!" he cooed and Harry noticed Liam try and fail at keeping a straight face. Louis pulled back, with a matching smile of his own. "Now, can we go get lollipops? Z promised"

Liam glanced over at Zayn who gave a half-shrug.  
"Yeah, alright", Liam relented, a smile tugging at his mouth as Louis squealed and ran out, followed by a now grinning Zayn. He then turned to Harry and Niall.

"Sorry about…all that", he said, looking incredibly sincere. "I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Liam Payne, Louis' cousin".

Niall introduced himself and Harry, who was still reeling from having been in the presence of Louis. Why was it that guy affected him so much?

"Well, I guess I owe you an explanation about…everything that happened here", Liam said.

Harry really wanted to know but he had been brought up to be well mannered. "You don't have to tell us anything", he said, "We don't really mind".

Liam smiled a bit but he shook his head.  
"But it's only fair. I don't know how you two met Louis but you might have noticed he's…filled with childish excitement, I guess. He's always been like that".

Liam grinned now, obviously recalling past memories with Louis. Harry imagined they'd be nice. Everything seemed nice and fun with Louis. 

"Anyway", Liam shook his head, clearing his thoughts, "The man you saw, he's Louis' dad, my uncle. He left Louis and his mum and his two sisters when Louis was six. Well, left isn't the right word. Jay, Louis' mum, kicked him out when she found out he'd been abusing Louis. Hitting him and stuff because he felt his son wasn't quite 'right in the head'" Liam's disgust with Mr.Tomlinson was obvious by the way he spoke of him. Harry felt anger unfurl in his stomach as he thought of Louis- sweet, sometimes annoying but adorable Louis- getting beaten up by his own father!

"Zayn and I have known Louis since we were kids. Zayn was Louis' friend before he was mine. I guess what I wanted to tell you guys was thanks. For passing on the message so Louis didn't have to see his dad. He hasn't seen him in years and we'd all like to keep it that way. As you can imagine, Louis still has nightmares about the abuse he suffered at that age…"

"Of course, yeah", Niall answered, "God, that's…I'm sorry, mate. He's had it rough but at least he's got you two!"

"Yeah", Liam smiled, cast an eye over them. "Would it be pushing it if I asked you both for another favour?"

Harry shook his head. 

"It's just…well, Zayn and I always try to keep an eye on Louis because, you know, he's so innocent to the ways of the world. It would be so easy for someone to hurt him without us there. But that being said, Louis knows we're protective of him and he doesn't exactly appreciate it all the time. Tells us he's not a baby and all that. A lot of the time, he manages to slip past us too. It's some kind of fun for him, driving me frantic with worry. Anyway, I was just wondering if you two could keep an eye on him if you ever run into him without me or Zayn? And maybe let us know where he is so we can come pick him up?"

"Sure we can!" Niall chirped, reaching for his phone, "What's your number?"

And just like that, Louis became a more constant part of Harry's life. Not that he minded. Not one bit!

 

_____________________________

 

It was cold and Harry really didn't want to leave the warmth of the bakery but his evening shift was over and he had a ton of uni work to get done. He trudged through the snow, his boots providing much needed insulation against the winter chill.

And that was when he saw him. Louis. Standing alone in the middle of the frozen lake. Harry looked around for Zayn or Liam and, seeing neither, made his way towards Louis.

"Lou?" he called out as he neared the boy, skating out over the ice in his slippery boots and nearly falling on his arse. Louis was crouched down on the ice but he looked up, those blue eyes sparkling as they saw Harry.

"Curly!" he grinned but then the smile slipped away. 

"What's wrong, Louis?" Harry asked, managing to reach him without too humiliating a fall. 

"Look", Louis pointed at the ice, "I saw a fish in there. A fish! Probably a baby! He's trapped under the ice, Harry! We have to help him or he'll be stuck there forever!"

He seemed so genuinely worried about this that Harry bit back a laugh.  
"Not forever, Lou", he reassured the boy, reaching out to grab one of his small hands. "Just until the ice melts in spring. The baby fish is going to be fine".

"Promise?" Louis asked, blinking up at Harry.

"Of course. I promise. No one's going to hurt the fish".

"Good", Louis nodded as if satisfied by this answer before hooking his arm through Harry's and standing up. "Wanna take me to the candy store to get lollipops?"

Before Harry could answer, Louis added, "Great! Let's go!"

And really. How could Harry say no to him? He couldn't. And Louis knew it. As they walked through the snow-covered street, Louis talking about which flavour lollipop he loved the best (it turned out he changed his preference every hour!), Harry couldn't help but watch him. 

Louis' cheeks were flushed red, his eyes bright and reflecting the white sparkle of the snow that surrounded them. His hair was a perfectly styled mess and Harry really wanted to reach out and hug him and never let him go. He understood why Zayn and Liam felt so protective of Louis. There was something about him that just drew Harry to him, like a moth to a flame. The things he said, the way he laughed, every smile and gesture he made…yes. Harry didn't know what falling in love was but this was the strongest feeling he'd ever felt in his life. 

And if Harry glared at anyone who gave Louis a second glance and threw a possessive hand around Louis' shoulder…well, Louis didn't seem to mind. In fact, he grinned and moved closer, interlinking their gloved hands.

By the time they reached the store and Louis had picked up a bag of lollipops (Harry paying for it), Harry was already thinking of ways to make their time together last longer. He really didn't want Louis to leave but he knew Zayn and Liam would be waiting for him.

"Hey, Curly", Louis said after a few minutes of silence as they walked towards the park where Louis insisted he'd left Zayn. "Can I come over to your house one day?"

Harry didn't even think before saying, "Of course you can!"  
Because, if it hadn't been painfully obvious by now, Harry could not deny Louis anything. It was probably unhealthy in some ways but he didn't really care.

Louis grinned and nodded, pleased with the answer. When they reached the park, he sat down on a bench and pulled Harry down with him, snuggling against his shoulder. Harry automatically put an arm around Louis, loving the warmth of his frame. 

"Where's Zayn?" he asked after a minute of content silence. Louis shrugged, a small smile on his lips.

"Must have wandered off", he murmured and Harry chuckled. Somehow he doubted that.

"You didn't leave him here, did you?"  
"You're too good at guessing, Curly", Louis pouted but he was still smiling. "He'll find me eventually. But until then, tell me about your family".

And so, Harry found himself talking about his older sister, Gemma and his mum. He told Louis embarrassing stories of when he was little, how he had been terrified on his first day of school, how he'd become best friends with Niall on that very same day. In the half an hour they sat there, Harry basically gave Louis a summary of his life to date. Then Louis reciprocated.

He spoke about his two younger sisters-Lottie and Fizzy-and his mum, Jay. He mentioned his dad briefly, saying he hated him and so did his mum and his sisters. He wasn't really family, Louis stated with a firmness that Harry wasn't going to question. So, Harry changed the subject and asked him why he liked lollipops. It was something he'd been wondering since the moment he met him!

"I don't know", Louis shrugged, "I think it's because my grandpa used to give me lollipops when I visited. Even when I was all grown up. He had a jar of them in his house and I'd always get first pick, before my sisters, 'cause I was the oldest. It made me feel special, I guess".

"You are special", Harry said because it was true. And, if it made Louis give that breathtaking smile, then Harry was going to say it everyday. God, he loved that smile!

"Here", Louis suddenly reached into his jacket pocket and gave Harry a green lollipop, pressing it into his gloved hand. "It matches your eyes. Did you…?"

"Change the colour of my eyes to match the lollipop?" Harry smiled, "Why yes, I did. Thank you for noticing".

Louis giggled and snuggled into Harry more.

"Think of me when you eat it", he murmured against his shoulder and Harry tightened his arms around him. As if he could think of anything else. Even his dreams, lately, had been filled with thoughts of a blue eyed, brown haired, eccentric man! 

Damn Louis and his adorableness! Harry couldn't get enough of him, honestly!

Harry's thoughts were disrupted by the ringing of a phone. Louis sighed and reached into his pocket, answering his phone.

"Z", he said, flatly, obviously not pleased at having had his moment with Harry interrupted. "Yeah, I'm at the park. Harry's with me. Bye".

Louis turned to Harry with a pout of disappointment.  
"I'll have to go now", he muttered, looking up at Harry with sad eyes and damn it! Harry couldn't help it. He leaned down and touched their lips together. Louis' shock only lasted a moment before his arms came around Harry's neck, pulling him closer. Their lips slid over each other, both firm and soft, taking and giving. All Harry could feel was the touch of Louis' warm lips against his own, the only bit of heat in an otherwise cold winter night. It was, quite easily, the best kiss of his life!

When they finally pulled back, Louis was breathing hard and Harry knew his cheeks were just as flushed.

"Uh…", Harry cleared his throat after a moment of silence, in which Louis' slightly glassy eyes just watched Harry.

"Do you believe" Louis asked suddenly, eyes shining, "That you like me?" and shit! Yes. Yes, Harry did.

"I do", Harry replied and he couldn't keep the grin off his face if he tried, "I like you a lot".

"Damn! I was hoping you'd say no so I could prove it to you", Louis laughed and it was such a pleasant sound, Harry wanted to hear it again. And again. Possibly for the rest of his life!

He jumped up as Zayn's voice called out, "Lou?".

Louis' low growl of annoyance only made Harry chuckle and press a quick kiss to his forehead. He understood how Louis felt. He felt the same way.  
Zayn, oblivious to how Louis was shooting imaginary daggers at him, ran up to them, Liam in tow.

"He ran away from us again", Zayn panted to Harry who was anything but surprised.  
Still, just to hear Louis' explanation, he turned to him and raised an eyebrow.  
"Did you, Lou?"

"Not ran away", Louis clarified, "I explored. It's not my fault they couldn't keep up!"

"I swear, I will put you on a leash!" Liam groaned, grabbing Louis' hand with a grateful smile at Harry. "Thanks for looking after him!"

"Harry's great at looking after me", Louis said and the words might have been a perfectly innocent statement had the tease not winked at him and licked his lips.

Harry may have stopped breathing, quickly glancing over at Liam who didn't seem to have noticed the exchange. Louis chuckled, undoubtedly knowing exactly what effect he had on Harry(the boy wasn't half as innocent as he pretended to be!) before letting Liam lead him to the car.  
"See you tomorrow, Curly. Come by my house! I'll text you", Louis called over his shoulder. Harry watched him go, a fond look on his face.

He only looked away when he heard Zayn clearing his throat.

"What?" he asked, turning to see the olive-skinned boy was standing there with a smirk on his face.

"He gave you a lollipop".  
And….what? Oh!  
Harry shrugged putting the green lollipop he had been holding in his hand in his pocket. 

"Yeah. Said it matched my eyes".  
"He said that, huh?" Zayn's smirk only grew wider. 

"Mhm. Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry asked, flushing as Zayn's eyes seemed to stare into his very soul, probably seeing all the naughty dreams he had had of Louis. And there were a lot!

Zayn shrugged and turned away, preparing to follow Louis and Liam but at the last minute, he turned back.

"You should know, Louis doesn't share his lollipops. Not even with me or Li", Zayn said.

"Uh, I guess I'm really lucky then", Harry answered, trying not to appear like a lovesick puppy. Could Louis get any more perfect?

Zayn studied him silently.  
"It's a fucking privilege", he finally said, "If you abuse it, if you hurt him in any way, you _will_ regret it".

Harry nodded, understanding Zayn's protectiveness. Shit! Harry'd probably beat up anyone who hurt Louis too! Maybe some of these thoughts could be seen on his face because Zayn smiled and nodded back before he headed towards the car.

Harry took out the green lollipop, unwrapping it slowly. It felt all the more special because Louis had given it to him.

"Oh and Harry?" Zayn's voice made Harry look up, "Taking him to the candy store is your responsibility from now on".

And Harry honestly couldn't explain why the words made him smile as much as they did. All he knew was that he wore that smile for the rest of the evening and all through his sleep, dreaming about a blue eyed, brown-haired man and an amazing kiss he hoped to replicate. Many, many times.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, please let me know with a comment or kudos!  
> Thanks for reading! <3 xx


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